Posted by Doris

Although May 2, 2008 marks the 10th anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, as loyal fans, many of us have had less than a year to mourn the deaths of some of our favorite [most beloved?] characters in the Harry Potter series. In honor of these fallen heroes, our May contest is an invitation for you to write an eulogy*[of] up to 50 words about the HP character of your choice. You will not be limited solely to those who were killed in the Battle of Hogwarts, but can select any character who was killed at any point in the series.

“Eulogy” (from www.dictionary.com)
1. a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, esp. a set oration in honor of a deceased person.
2. high praise or commendation.

Rules for Entrants:

• Write an eulogy of up to 50 words about your favorite character in the Harry Potter series. You may write the eulogy in any form (e.g. poem, speech, prose, etc). You may submit entries for up to two characters.
• There is a strict PG-13 rating for the epitaphs.
• All work must be original.
• All decisions by the judges are final.
• Anyone over the age of 13 may enter the contest including staff members who are not involved in the judging process.
• All submissions must be e-mailed to [email protected] by May 25, 2008 at 11:59 p.m. EDT with “Fallen Heroes” in the subject line of the e-mail. Please copy-paste the eulogy into the body of the e-mail and include a name to be used for authorship (real name or Leaky Lounge name).
• Please refer to our FAQ if you are not sure of something.
• If you have any questions not answered on the FAQ, or would like to discuss this Contest, please come to the Contest Corner forum of The Leaky Lounge.

UPDATE: The winners have been announced!

First Place: Severus Snape – MistyH

He was light and dark.
Hate and love.
Pain and remedy.
In the end, he was noble without being kind,
loyal without being blameless.
He was a question with no easy answer.
An enigma, a riddle, a deep and complex man.
And most assuredly, a hero.

Second Place: Regulus Black – Fidelia

To The Dark Seeker

We spoke your name in whispers
A traitor’s end
Ignoble, unsung
Time and other hands have uncovered your deeds
You instead saw Truth
And did not flinch nor turn away
You died for honor, for loyalty
And love
Let’s pin your fallen star
Knowing you sought not Darkness
But Light

Third Place: Severus Snape – Dasani

Harry: He was the bravest man ’
Hermione: ’ capable of great love ’
Ron: ’ in great need of shampoo ’
Neville: ’ perhaps a dose of sanity ’
Luna: He had the most beautiful soul ’
Ron: ’ if he had a soul ’
Harry: ’ and we didn’t really know him. Did we?

Honorable Mention: Fred Weasley – Fngw417

In life he made us laugh, his death we had a cry, but like the cowboy who dies with his boots on, with a smile on his face did Fred Weasley die. Whether a canary cream or dung bomb you give, in our hearts Fred Weasley does live!

Honorable Mention: Dobby – Zuha Khan

Dobby,
I took away your chains and gave you hope.
I gave you freedom and generosity.
If only I had realized that it was you who had set me free.
You had given me hope and freedom and generosity.
Your final act will never be forgotten.
You’re my savior.

NOTE: There were a number of great entries that were eliminated because of simple errors (e.g. spelling a character’s name wrong) and we encourage all contestants to watch that for future contests.